Marketing a church event and getting the word out is critical for getting a great turnout. We all know the basics of marketing an event—share the event’s date, time, and location with families and volunteers. But is that all there is to marketing? You might notice that even when you get the details out to people early, your events don’t quite have the turnout you’d hoped for. While your first instinct may be to print some flyers to hand out after your service or to post around your church building, there are a few other ways to market your event. Check out these three tips to go beyond traditional marketing to take your church event to the next level!
ADDING INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
Most church events have a bigger goal in mind—to let your community know you’re there for them. From Christmas plays to block parties in the summer, we all want our communities to get familiar with our ministries. After all, getting to know one another is the first step in building lasting relationships within our larger community. This goes beyond the people who share the same interests and family dynamics—building a true community includes those with differing perspectives, as well.
In order to connect with people with different backgrounds and family structures, consider adding language that would make anyone feel welcome at your next event. As you market your church event, get curious about how you can be more inclusive by asking:
- Is our event marketed with clear details?
- Is our event accessible to people with various disabilities?
- Does our event need translation at any point?
- Does this event require parent involvement? If so, how can we accommodate various family dynamics?
- How can we go beyond blanket statements of welcoming others and get specific about who’s included when we say “all” are invited?
UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA, EMAILS, AND TEXTS
Flyers and church announcements can only go so far, even if we are most comfortable relying on them when marketing a church event. Today, social media posts, emails, and texts will circulate peoples’ feeds online—a more effective way to keep them updated on details.
It may sound simple enough to hit “send” and call your promotion strategy good, but the algorithm of social media platforms can be a bit more involved than this. Each post may garner comments and direct messages full of follow-up questions regarding the event, and people may be so excited that they repost it! If you want to get the word out about your event online, try these tips:
- Sign up for a blast text service for your ministry.
- Use platforms like MailChimp to promote your event with scheduled blast emails.
- Boost your social media posts for a small fee using Meta platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
- Create a social media post schedule and ask a volunteer to monitor comments, DM’s, and reposts.
ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
Why partner with local organizations? Well, it’s a great opportunity to boost small businesses and tangibly partner with your community. How do you do this? Say hi! Visit and support their business, and consider hiring them as a vendor for a future event.
When you support local businesses, they can get the word out about your event. Whether that’s by posting a flyer or reposting about your event. Consider the following ways to incorporate local businesses when marketing a church event:
- Connect with food vendors for block party type of events.
- Highlight independent face painters or bounce house businesses for kids events.
- Promote local live bands and DJ’s for community events.
- Partner with non-profits for outreach events or donation drives.
- Support local artists who can provide their creative talents or mentor teenagers in your students ministry.
Marketing your events doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. With just a few steps, you can be strategic with sharing your events and connecting with your community. If you’re looking for another way to share your events, check out Grow Hubs.
With Grow Hubs, you can have a one-stop solution for sharing your ministry events. This is a great way to connect with volunteers and parents so they can stay updated on your events, their details, and their memorable stories. With Hubs you get…
- A shared, editable ministry calendar.
- An announcement feed with replies.
- Group and private messaging.
- Downloads for your teaching content
- And more!
If you’re ready to level up your marketing, check out Grow Hubs here.
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